By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

University introduces School of Liberal Education

Apr 18, 2017 | 1:21 PM

LETHBRIDGE – After 50 years, the University of Lethbridge has completely overhauled its approach to liberal education.
 
Dr. Andy Hakin, vice-president and provost, had concerns that the old philosophy, that only required students to take courses from several disciplines, had narrowed too much. In 2014, he called for a review of liberal education at the university.
 
The U of L announced Tuesday (Apr. 18) that the brand new School of Liberal Education was approved by the board of governors on April 13, 2017.
 
Programming will integrate liberal arts and the sciences to provide “breadth across disciplines, the ability to connect and integrate knowledge across disciplines, the opportunity to learn critical thinking and problem solving skills and civic engagement,” according to a media release.
 
“It’s wonderful and I think it’s a very natural evolution of the last three or four years’ work on liberal education and of the university’s development and history,” said Dr. Shelly Wismath, professor and leader of the liberal education revitalization team.
 
“It’s time we came back to the more philosophical approach to liberal education. It’s very timely. We need critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning now more than ever to address complex issues in the world.”
 
The School of Liberal Education is set to come on board July 1, 2017 as part of the Faculty of Arts and Science, with four full-time instructors. The change addresses student demands for upper level courses, and opens opportunities to expand programming throughout the U of L in the future.
 
The university will also explore promoting the program to faculty, students and community members, offering dual credit courses for high school students, introducing critical thinking workshops, as well as facilitating teaching and research across campus.